The Mount Kembla Disaster.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 239, 7 August 1902, Page 1

The Mount Kembla Disaster.

Sydxkt, August 4. The latest official report states th;it 84 bodies;b*V6 been recovered. Two aid still ■•believed'to bo in the mine. It will take a lonif time to clear up the blocked workings. and until this work was completed the actual- number of will remain in doubt.

I Various public-movements have been started to raise relief fund*. | Steps in ihis direction are also being .taken.in other State*. It it proponed to set aside one Saturday ia flew South Wale* to nuke & publio collection," riiriUat to that of Hospital Saturday. No definite tbeoty has yet been assigned for the caus« of the iccident. There is a conc-nsus of opinion-among the mining experts and working miners conneoied with the colliery that the mine was exceptionally free from gas. Sensational stories; are told by some of the miners of the narrow 1 escapes they had, and their awful wandering* in -the darkness after the explosion, before they reached daylight. Three men, trusting 400 ihe intelligence of one of the pit horse*, which are used to the darkness, clung to tad harness, and were carried oat safely. The Worsi feature of the death list is the number of cases of two or merfc members of family killed, Oat of sevenf brothers named Egan, four were victims, while three brothers named Ftfrceli; and their uncle perished. Eighty-seven victims are actually accounted for at Mount Kembla.

A large number of miners huve been engaged to clear up the workings, and the company intend restoring the mine as soon as possible. There is no fresh new? to-day beyond ihe discovery o! the remains of a boy named Walker, which were scattered among the debris at the mouth of the tunnel, the body having been Ittctallj-.- blown fpieces: Relief is being distributed amo the families and relatives of deceased. August /. It is understood that the off;*... ssarcb in the Mount Kembla min« disclosed the cause and place of the explosion, but the officials r«fuse to supply any information. Thirty-four of the victims leave widows, and 12* children art orphans. . Several of the rescued are in ft bad way, and probably two wilt suecumb.

The Premier h« received ft message- of condolence on the Kembla disaster from M r tieddon ; »I so a message from the editor of the Otago Daily Times, itnting that he bad started a Hstf afi& asking if outside assistance was necessary. The Premier had replied that any money contributed would be gratefully received, but ha pointed out that the Act provided for the payment of 8s per week to a widow and 2b 6d for each child. No further bodue were recovered from Mount Kembla to-day. The official inspection it exceeding. Some pressed >■>■■■ - i.-r:-require Mount . Timet, v« una opened a fund, cabled to Sir John See, who replies: '• Any money subscribed would' be gtateinlly received. We hate *n Aei in force which provides fot weekly payments of Ss to widows until they are again married and 2s 6d to each child op to the age of 14, but this is barely oufficient to maintain them." ——————|»»